ywhere out of the way, and some fell
headlong, screaming and cursing, in the rush and panic that spread from
one stern and sudden word--the soldier command: "Fire!"

CHAPTER XII

THE MAN OF THE SIEGE

Down in the valley that night there was commotion and uproar for hours,
but there was quiet at Silver Shield. One after another furious
speeches were made in foreign tongues, speeches in which the murderous
occupants of the mine buildings were doomed to an eternity of torment,
and the would-be murderous element among the miners was lauded to the
skies and urged to further effort.

But the astonishing repulse, the fact that they had been met in the
open as well as in the dark, and that a swift and sudden fire had been
poured into their very midst, had shattered the nerve of men already
shaken, although it later turned out that only three of their number
had really been shot (two of them in the back), and that twoscore had
been trampled and torn by their own people, while some thirty or more
were missing, "left dead on the hill," said their fellows, in the mad
rush for safety that followed the first flash. That sharp, stern order
and the instant response had started the rumor that soldiers, regulars,
had come up from the fort. It was pointed out that while the
Transcontinental was blocked down the Run, no one had thought to
cripple the Narrow Gauge over in the valley beyond. The road was open
to Miners' Joy, the road by which young Breifogle had made his escape,
and by this roundabout route had succor reached the besieged garrison.

All that liquor and eloquence could do was tried on the raging townsmen
that night, but not until broad daylight could they be induced to make
another trial, and by that time few were able to keep their feet on the
level.

Less than half a dozen shots from each of five Winchesters had been
enough, combined with darkness, to utterly rout the mass of rioters.
Mindful of the lesson well learned at the Point--to instantly follow a
staggering blow--Graham had sprung from his cover, called to his
fellows to "come on," and so, shouting and shooting at the very heels
of the panic, had not only chased them in headlong flight, but,
returning, had picked up half a dozen terrified prisoners and herded
them back to Nolan for such reassurance and comfort as that grim old
trooper saw fit to administer. When morning broke the depths of the
valley were still shrouded in mist and gloom. Up on the he